Cow down. Ate like a pig yesterday. Now what?

[KnowOneSpecial]

I have two cows. One is a little Angus mix and the other is a Holstein steer. They are almost 9 months old. Yesterday they got into the metal garbage cans I keep their feed in. It's from TSC and it's a calf finisher. They also got into the cracked corn and the goat feed. I would say that there was a whole garbage can of feed that they ate. There's a small chance the 3 goats helped them eat a bit.

Last night I put feed down before I realized what they did. It was barely touched today.

Tonight I went out to do chores and the Holstein is down. He would NOT get up at all. When I tried to roll him he shifted a bit and had liquid poo.

What can I do for him? He won't get up and I don't know how long he's been down. I haven't seen him out since late this afternoon.

Of course one vet is out of town and the other is about to be hoospitalized with the flu.

Thanks

[Callieslamb]

Ketosis? Over eating grain will cause LOTS of problems. Hopefully someone else more knowledgeable will chime in.

[KnowOneSpecial]

I'm going to try to get some warm water and electrolytes in him. I don't know what else to do.

[willow_girl]

Is he bloated? Look especially on the left side.

What did you try to do to get him up? Did he make any effort to rise?

Are his ears warm or cold?

[KnowOneSpecial]

He looks a bit bloated. Didn't feel the ears as it's really cold out. He wasn't interested in the warm water with electrolytes. When I tried to get him up he just laid there. I know it couldn't feel good to have me trying with all I can to get him up.

Now the little black cow is down and won't get up. She's got runny poo too.

[gone-a-milkin]

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...m/bc/21703.htm

[Lazy J]

Ruminal Acidosis, the calf has a major league stomach ache. You need to get something into the rumen to increase the pH, Baking Soda does the trick. Since the calves aren't eating tubing them with a making soda slurry might do the trick. If the calves survive you will have to watch their feet carefully as they may have laminitis due to the acidosis.

Good luck.

Jim

[TamBerk]

If they want to eat, feed them hay until they poop stiffens up.

[KnowOneSpecial]

I went out at 6:15 thiss morning and the Holstein was up and the little angus had apparently gotten up in the night because she was laying in a different place than she was at 12:30 this morning.

The Holstein doesn't look as bloated and I don't think the Angus is that much, either. When they lay down it's hard to tell.

They're in the part of the barn where they have access to hay.

Thanks for the help! When TWO vets are out of comission it's good to know I can come here!

[Lazy J]

The acidosis was caused by a change in the bacterial population in the rumen due to the easily fermented corn. The bacteria that consume the corn produce Lactic Acid which can drop the pH very quickly. The pH drop can kill the normal bcteria in the rumen so yo uneed to watch the calves the next day or so. Having access to hay is good as it will add scratch factor which will stimulate rumenial morility and encourage the neutral pH bacteria to reproliferate.

Watch them for signs of further lethargy and fever, the acidosis may make them more susceptible to other sicknesses.

Jim

[KnowOneSpecial]

The Holstein is now standing, still has runny poop, but not as runny. The little angus is still down, acting lethargic and like she wants to go to sleep. I've given them electrolytes, but she doesn't want to drink-just put her head back and go to sleep. Breathing is normal to a bit shallow. Hard to tell if the ears are cold or warm due to it being so cold out. I left a bucket of electrolytes by her and came in to make more mercy calls to my vet. It sucks being out where there's just two large animal vets.

[mamahen]

Feel inside her mouth - it to should be warm - cold mouth means shock.

Can you mix some baking soda with water and syringe it in her mouth? Be careful not to go to fast & choke her. She probably won't like it & will shake her head, have someone help to hold her steady. Say, 1/4 cup soda to 1 1/2 cups warm water.

[6e]

One time our Jersey got into the feed barrels and ate a bunch of feed and in a panic I called the vet and he told me that cows aren't as stupid as horses and will usually stop before they over eat too much and to just give her hay to offset the ph imbalance and don't worry about her. She did have very runny poo for a few days, but we didn't give her any grain at all, only hay and she lived to tell the tale.

[francismilker]

Your critter has a major stomach ache and needs time to get it's rumen working again. As long as it's not bloated and is moving a bit, I'd feed it hay only and it "should" be OK.

Remember this though, not many of us on HT are vets (especially not me) so walk softly on the advice we give. As long as it's peeing and pooping it ought to line itself out with some time, hay, and water. If you are concerned about possible bloat I'd recommend getting the animal to walk if you see it up and standing around. That will help get it's gut churning again.

[Lazy J]

Originally Posted by francismilker

Remember this though, not many of us on HT are vets (especially not me) so walk softly on the advice we give.

+1

Good advice.

[mekasmom]

If either one of them is down now, I would be running a hose down to let out some gas.

[Lazy J]

Originally Posted by mekasmom

If either one of them is down now, I would be running a hose down to let out some gas.

Why? The calves may very well be down because of painful laminitis or just not feeling well.

Recommending tubing a calf without the calf actually being bloated is inappropriate and illustrates the need for caution that FrancisMilker gave us.

Jim

[KnowOneSpecial]

The Vet came out on Thursday night after my second cow went down. He gave her 2 bottles of sodium bicarbonate via IV. He also tubed her and pumped in about 2 gallons of water and a half gallon of mineral oil to get the fermented grain moving.

Unfortunately it was too little, too late. She died early this morning.

My steer is up and moving around. He got tubed and the same warm water and mineral oil blast that she did. He's back to more solid poo's. Today he started walking around a lot more than he has in the past 2-3 days. We're going to feed him good alfalfa for 2 weeks to get the rumen going.

What's sad is that when I went out early this AM to check on them I knew she was dead because he was sitting right by her. Do cows get depression? Does he know? I mean, he acts a little stand offish to me, but that could be because I helped hold him down while he got tubed. But sitting right by her....

Thankfully it's below freezing here and I don't need the rendering truck to get out here until after the weekend. She's covered by a tarp already, so she should stay frozen, right? Gewwwwwwww...the thinks you have to think of when you're a farmer!

[myersfarm]

so sorry

[MO_cows]

That's a tough loss, sorry it happened.